R. Nagendra Rao
Born	Rattihalli Nagendra Rao (1896-06-23)23 June 1896 Holalkere,Kingdom of Mysore,British India
Died	9 February 1977(1977-02-09) (aged 80)
Occupation(s)	Actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, composer
Spouses	Ratna Bai Kamala Bai
Children	4, including R. N. K. Prasad R. N. Jayagopal R. N. Sudarshan
Awards	Padma Shri (1976)

Rattihalli Nagendra Rao (23 June 1896 – 9 February 1977) was an Indian theatre actor, film actor and director inSouth Indian cinema. Following his career in theatre, Rao turned to film a where he became an actor, director, producer, screenwriter and occasional composer. He is considered one of the most influential personalities in the history of South Indian cinema.^[1]

For his performance inHannele Chiguridaga (1968), Rao won theKarnataka State Film Award for Best Actor. Recognized for his contributions to cinema, he was awarded thePadma Shri by theGovernment of India in 1976. Rao had four children, three of whom were involved in film. His second son,R. N. K. Prasad, was a cinematographer, his third son,R. N. Jayagopal, a screenwriter and lyricist and his youngest,R. N. Sudarshan, an actor.^[2]

Nagendra Rao was born on 23 June 1896, in Holalkere, inKingdom of Mysore ofBritish India.^[3]

Rao began his career as an actor intheatre, performing in plays written in theKannada language at the age of eight. As a child, he portrayed divine female characters such asSita and historical characters such as Chandramathi and Desdemona. He then switched to male roles, his work proving popular in the erstwhileKingdom of Mysore and the non-Kannada speakingMadras Presidency. In theatre, he worked with A. V. Varadacharya's Ratnavali Drama Company and Chamundeshwari company, inMysore.^[4]

With the beginning of thetalking films era in India in 1931, Rao left forBombay (now Mumbai). There, he was cast by actor and directorP. K. Raja Sandow in theTamil language filmsParijata Pushpaharanam (1932),Narada (1932),Kovalan (1933) and theTelugu language filmRamadasu (1933). Rao appeared in lead roles in the latter two. Following a stint in film, Rao returned toBangalore and founded the Shri Sahitya Samrajya Nataka Mandali (Shri Sahitya Samrajya Drama Company) withSubbaiah Naidu, an actor and director, who would go on to influence Kannada cinema greatly.^[3]

To realize his dream of making a film written in Kannada, he approached ShahChamanlal Doongaji, a Bangalore businessman, to finance it. With Doongaji choosingYaragudipati Varada Rao to direct the film, the first talking film in Kannada,Sati Sulochana, was made and finally released on 3 March 1934. Rao played the role ofRavana in the film, and scored the music. His first film as a director came in the 1943 filmSatya Harishchandra, which he also produced and starred in.^[4]

Rao's playBhukailasa was thrice made into films; in 1938 and 1940 bySundar Rao Nadkarni, and in 1958 by K. Shankar. It was in this play thatRajkumar, who would go on to become one of Kannada cinema's finest actors, made his breakthrough as a theatre actor, playing the role ofNarada.^[3] In 1951, Rao formed his own film production company, RNR Pictures. The 1957 filmPremada Putri was produced under this banner and Rao directed it, also playing a supporting role in the film. At the5th National Film Awards, the film was awarded theBest Feature Film in Kannada.^[5] The production company existed until 1964. Following this, he appeared in the roles of a father in films such asShri Kannika Parameshwari Kathe (1966) andKarulina Kare (1970). For his role in his 1968 filmHannele Chiguridaga, that co-stars Rajkumar, he won theKarnataka State Film Award for Best Actor. His last appearance came in the 1974 filmProfessor Huchuraya.^[3]

• R. Nagendra Rao atIMDb

• 1896 births
• 1977 deaths
• Kannada male actors
• Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts

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